Roberto Talks Meat

This week’s interview is with Roberto Liberati. The son of a butcher, he began breaking down chickens in the family shop at age seven. In 2001 he opened a gourment food shop and in 2004, this was joined with his father Emilio’s butcher shop to create Bottega Liberati. The shelves are filled with artisanal pastas, organic and natural wines, alpine cheeses, and other products of exceptional quality. The counter displays meat from carefully vetted producers who guarantee their animals were raised in a respectful manner in tune with the rhythms of nature. Bottega Liberati is located on Via Flavio Stilicone 278-280-282 in the Don Bosco quarter of Rome’s Tuscolano neighborhood (fermata Metro Giulio Agricola).

Name: Roberto Liberati

Age: 43

Occupation: Macellaio

Describe your work and how you got started:
The business started back in 1964 when my father opened a butcher shop in this periphreal neighbhorhood in Rome. This was thanks to the help of my grandfather. Our grandfather, my father’s father, lived near Rome. We had a farmhouse with a barn behind it. We would go get animals in Le Marche and Abruzzo from various relatives who had remained true to their roots, whose animals were completely natural and wild. So, even if the idea of organic farming wasn’t yet part of the discussion, that was the manner in which everything was produced. We brought animals to the barn near Rome to do the finishing, all with agricultural products that we grew. We didnt bring in anything from outside. We cultivated all the hay and grains ourselves. I remember when I was a kid, we went to press the hay bails. The wheat, the oats, and barley we cut with our thresher. Therefore, the origin, the roots of this business are in farming. There’s a real foundation there. From there, we derive our knowledge, our sensitivity for choice, and our relationships with farmers.

When I buy meat I dont go to the slaughterhouse and buy “a piece of meat”. I exclusively, or almost exclusively, work with farmers and ranchers that do closed-loop farming in which they live and work the countryside in a full 360 degrees. A company with which we work is in Tuscania near Viterbo. They do closed-loop organic farming, so they carry out all the steps just as we used to do.

Basically, the modern butcher recovers what butchers used to do. There’s nothing new in that sense. What’s new is that now we must search for what is organic, biodynamic, or natural, and to seek what is closer to the basic man-animal-nature relationship.

What inspires you?
To provide wellbeing to others. To give and to create something that generates energy.

What profession other than your own would you like to try?
Farmer.

Which profession would you not like to participate in?
Lawyer.

Who is the person you most respect?
Adamo, my grandfather who taught me so much and gave me patience.

What’s your favorite food?
Fava beans. Cooked fava beans.

And beverage?
Definitely a wine that is “naturally” extraodinary.

What is the characteristic you value most in others?
Generosity. The absence of greed.

Would you like to add something?
There is a lot more left to do. There’s still a lot to do to try and find a new equilibrium which, unfortunately, has disintegrated over time. We should be starting point for a new generation of balance. Unfortunately, many large retailers, even the best, like Coop or whichever one you like, is part of a degenerative system. They create mass. They also provide low-cost, but at the expense of quality and energy. So we should reflect a bit on many things, including food culture. It should be considered, for example, that different types of meat are not all alike, that they have differences. There remains a lot of work ahead to change this mentality. We are still far behind. The very fact that people say “I eat lean meat so I’m healthy” or “the doctor told me to eliminate fat from my diet” or “I shouldn’t eat any fat” is extreme. Like all things extreme it’s not good, is it? A bit of fat is necessary. Everything in moderation. And always in balance with nature. That is the message, perhaps utopian, I would like to relay.